HOW-TO-TUESDAY - TURMERIC PASTE

Turmeric is one of the BEST anti-inflammatory herbs/spices. It is good for SO MANY health concerns. Here is an easy way to incorporate it into your busy lifestyle. This simple recipe for turmeric paste can be added to numerous dishes, made into a smoothie, used as a sandwich spread, eaten on crackers or veggies or added to warm milk.

1/4 cup turmeric powder
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 tsp pepper (pepper makes the turmeric more bio-available)

Mix ingredients, heat on stove until thickened--this doesn't take long!

Store in frig--will keep forever. Well, maybe not forever.

Golden Milk
1 cup milk (for all of us dairy intolerant-use alternative milks: almond, rice etc)
1/4 tsp turmeric paste
Heat on stove, then add honey to taste. Can add cinnamon, too! This is a very warming and relaxing drink; afterall, Autumn is here!

When I have any inflammation, I drink 2 or 3 cups of this a day.

Smoothie
Use my smoothie matrix on my website for infinite possibilities! Or, short and easy: milk, turmeric paste, honey, cinnamon.

Autumn Comes

Autumn comes.

With cold breath
and changing colors.
Autumn comes.

With darkening moon
and paling sun
Autumn comes.

With slowing sap
and hoarding squirrels
Autumn comes.

With secret smiles
and glowing hope
Autumn comes.

Golden Rod

I spent all day yesterday harvesting this beautiful WILD herb. It grows abundantly all over our farm and all along the roadsides of Missouri and the U.S. Have you ever been blamed for something you didn't do? Golden Rod gets this all the time. He is blamed for allergies but is INNOCENT! Probably because he shows his golden plumes unabashedly while sneaky ragweed is less ostentatious--out of site, out of mind. Golden Rod pollen is much too heavy to be borne on the wind; it needs pollinators like our beautiful bees.

All parts of golden rod are used in traditional medicine making: the lovely tiny yellow flowers that form the plume, the long slender elegant leaves and the silent magic in the roots. Golden Rod offers us a plethora of healthy actions: anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic and vulnerary. That means you can use if for a HOST health concerns. The best part? He's absolutely FREE. Just give him a little bit of your time and he will give you a, well, a healthier you.

HERB CLASS: Golden Rod Tuesday September 27 10 am to noon $20 Bring a sack lunch and enjoy the country! We will be learning all about golden rod's good properties and making traditional remedies.

REGISTER TODAY: 816-853-0440 lizzie@rcvfarm.com

Summer's End

Well, two more days of summer and I say make the most of it! It was in the 40's here in the valley this morning. Crisp. Bracing. Makes me think of bread fresh from the oven (ok, bread machine), steaming stew and hot chocolate.

Grilling time may be short for some of you (we grill all winter long, yes even in Missouri) so here's a delicious herbal marinade that's delicious on meat or vegetables.

THYME TO GRILL: 1/2 cup red wine vinegar or red wine, 1 small onion, 1 clove garlic, sea salt & fresh ground black pepper and 8 to 10 sprigs of thyme. (Throw caution to the wind and substitute different herbs). Place all ingredients in flat dish, add meat (ribeye's are great), cover and chill about 3 hours. Remove meat from marinade (discard marinade), salt & pepper and pop on hot grill (400-450 degrees). Be sure grill is on HIGH HEAT and close the grill lid when cooking. For ribeye about 4 minutes each side. Or, you can broil them about 5 inches from heat. Ummmm, I can smell it now.

Jumpin' Jack Flash put up a valiant fight living several weeks after his dog and coyote attacks but he finally gave it up. I buried him with his Mables.

I LOVE IT when Rocky Creek classes start in the Fall. We've already had such a good turn out. This year we have added KIDS classes for homeschoolers and CRAFT classes for, well anyone to our regular line up of HERB classes. Next up is Herbal Antibiotics October 18. And, as soon as it frosts FIRST FROST herb class will be scheduled so be on the look out! The next KIDS class is October 11: Life Science-Pumpkin carving and painting--WHAT FUN. CRAFT class is bead weaving October 4. You will be making a beautiful bracelet in what I call 3-D! Check our website or facebook page for a full schedule. Don't be disappointed: register today. I encourage participants to bring a sack lunch and eat at the farm after class.

I will be putting the garden to bed very soon. It has been QUITE an experience in the garden this summer...good and bad. I will share all of it with you on a future blog.

Wiley Coyote

Poor little Jack cannot catch a break. A few weeks ago his beautiful plumage and his ability to walk were greatly diminished when a dog attacked him and killed several of his Mables. He hobbles around on one leg resolutely maintaining his top of the pecking order status. My heart goes out to him.

Two days ago I glanced out the window in response to the "chicken alarm" and a brazen HUGE coyote was in the barn lot. Earlier it had been storming so I had kept an eye on Jack to make sure he got in out of the weather and had watched him go into the barn... now ten feet from the coyote. I ran toward the back door, slipped on my shoes and grabbed my gun; Cassie hot on my heels. She now jumps up and looks out the window anytime she hears the chicken alarm. I flew out the door yelling like a crazy person. Wiley Coyote had grabbed Jack but upon seeing a deranged and demented farmgirl brandishing a weapon he dropped Jack and took off toward the woods. Jack furiously flapped his wings and hopped as fast as his one leg could carry him into the yard toward me. I fired a shot for good measure knowing there was no hope of hitting the would-be chicken killer but wanting to send a message. Chicken thieves shot on sight; questions later.

The next morning Jack wouldn't come out for breakfast until mid-day; I expect he was feeling the pain of the mauling. But, this morning he hopped out to eat with the others. He's short a few (ok a lot) more feathers, but seems to be ok. I've opened up the brooder house so he can bed down easier and his three remaining Mables and one Tilly sleep with him at night; the rest of the chickens go into the big chicken house.

Yesterday Wiley came out of the gardens which is quite a ways from the main chicken hang-out area around the chicken houses and pens. Again, I fired a warning shot to keep him his distance. As I have mentioned before, this is one of the perils of true free ranging so I will continue to stand guard over my flock. Farmboy Gary built a great pen for them around the chicken houses, so when I leave I put them in their pen; otherwise they are out catching worms, bugs and foraging herbs and other greens. It's the stuff good, no GREAT eggs are made of.